More Stay At Home Reverend Liturgy
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work or watch or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen
St. Augustine, 4th century
Now that, my friends, is a bedtime prayer. I pray it as a way to let go of the things that, as a pastor, I’m holding onto before I go to sleep; family members, church people, neighbors and friends who I am worried about. I need to be reminded that God can take over worrying for the night. And I can get some rest.
But here in stay-at-home-Reverend-land, we are limping our way to the day when everyone goes to bed and stays in bed and there are few, if any, nighttime crises. Erik and I estimate that this will probably happen sometime around 2030, as long as our children have made it out of the house to their own apartments or dorm rooms. We look to that day with expectation.
And so this is our version of Augustine’s prayer:
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who whine or wail or wee-wee this night, and give my angels help going back to sleep. Tend the sick; give rest to weary parents; bless the bladders; shield the sheets…
(For extra fun with bedtime, you need to watch Jim Gaffigan. A few minutes in, there’s a description of bedtime in his house. The man gets it.)